The need for coupling together the ends of conduits such as pipes and pipe fittings is well known. Many of the prior art devices include an elastomeric gasket having an annular interior cavity intended to be expanded by pressure injection of a solidifiable material to grip the ends of aligned conduits and thereby effect a fluid tight connection. These have been unsatisfactory due to the presence of atmospheric gases in the cavity creating voids in the expanding medium with attendant joint failure. Attempts to solve this defect by incorporating valve means to exhaust the gases also appear in existing art. Because of the impracticability of designing valve mechanisms which will allow the escape of gases yet seal at the proper time to insure expansion of the cavity by the injected material, these have also failed to achieve the desired results.
In other embodiments of such concepts intended to effect a temporary coupling of conduits means have been lacking to insure positive release of the coupling upon disassembly.
The prior art devices have also not been as satisfactory as they could be in providing for either temporary or permanent coupling by employing a device simply constructed of relatively few parts. It will be seen from the following description that considerable advantages are apparent in the present invention.